Sustainable competitive advantage has proved elusive for companies in the 1990s. While making enormous investments in technology, research, and state-of-the-art marketing, many of today9s managers continue to ignore the single most important factor in achieving and maintaining competitive success: people. Yet all evidence indicates that the source of competitive advantage is shifting from technology, patents, or strategic position to how a company manages its employees. In this excerpt from his newly published book, Competitive Advantage through People, Jeffrey Pfeffer describes how successful companies have overcome the barriers to change and offers a solid framework—with specific actions—for implementing these changes in any industry.


a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) Degree


Exploiting a notion of Kähler structure on a stratified space introduced elsewhere we show that, in the Kähler case, reduction after quantization coincides with quantization after reduction: Key tools developed for that purpose are stratified polarizations and stratified prequantum modules, the latter generalizing prequantum bundles. These notions encapsulate, in particular, the behaviour of a polarization and that of a prequantum bundle across the strata. Our main result says that, for a positive Kähler manifold with a hamiltonian action of a compact Lie group, when suitable additional conditions are imposed, reduction after quantization coincides with quantization after reduction in the sense that not only the reduced and unreduced quantum phase spaces correspond but the (invariant) unreduced and reduced quantum observables as well. Over a stratified space, the appropriate quantum phase space is a costratified Hilbert space in such a way that the costratified structure reflects the stratification. Examples of stratified Kähler spaces arise from the closures of holomorphic nilpotent orbits including angular momentum zero reduced spaces and from representations of compact Lie groups. For illustration, we carry out Kähler quantization on various spaces of that kind including singular Fock spaces.


Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) is used to sufficiently reserve the resources between fixed endpoints. To support it for host mobility, several methods have been proposed in the literature to address the challenging problems of minimizing the handoff resource reservation delays and wastage of resources. Although, these methods minimize intra-subnet handoff resource reservation delays with minimum wastage of resources; but for inter-subnet handoffs, these methods need more resource reservation delays and more wastage of resources. In this paper, we propose a flow transparent multicast pre-reservation modification of RSVP to solve these problems to make the handoffs completely opaque to the user. In this method, a Multicast Group (MG) of cells is selected for each Boundary Cell (BC), and the resources are pre-reserved in this group only to the newly added path instead of whole path between source and destination when the Mobile Node (MN) performs an inter-subnet handoff towards that group. Simulation results demonstrate that the number of cells in the MG and resource reservation delays for inter-subnet handoff of the proposed method is always smaller than that of all other existing methods and has tolerable call blocking probabilities


Wireless sensor networks have been used widely in many application fields, whereas such applications as battlefield information obtaining, disaster survivor rescuing, etc. need an immediate and fast route that is simultaneously secure and energy-efficient. In this paper, by constructing a neighbor table, we build a tree-structure route that can meet all the above requirements for the large-sized wireless sensor networks with only a resource-constrained sink node. Our proposed routing scheme has salient features: light overhead, quick formation, and immediate effectiveness. We also adopt some effective energy-conserving measures, such as data aggregation, node sleep, sink move and parent reselection, etc., to prolong the lifetime of wireless sensor networks. We show through experiments that our routing scheme can ensure adequately the security and energy-efficiency of the route request message and the sensing data.


Temporal action localization (TAL) is a fundamental yet challenging task in video understanding. Existing TAL methods rely on pre-training a video encoder through action classification supervision. This results in a task discrepancy problem for the video encoder -- trained for action classification, but used for TAL. Intuitively, end-to-end model optimization is a good solution. However, this is not operable for TAL subject to the GPU memory constraints, due to the prohibitive computational cost in processing long untrimmed videos. In this paper, we resolve this challenge by introducing a novel low-fidelity end-to-end (LoFi) video encoder pre-training method. Instead of always using the full training configurations for TAL learning, we propose to reduce the mini-batch composition in terms of temporal, spatial or spatio-temporal resolution so that end-to-end optimization for the video encoder becomes operable under the memory conditions of a mid-range hardware budget. Crucially, this enables the gradient to flow backward through the video encoder from a TAL loss supervision, favourably solving the task discrepancy problem and providing more effective feature representations. Extensive experiments show that the proposed LoFi pre-training approach can significantly enhance the performance of existing TAL methods. Encouragingly, even with a lightweight ResNet18 based video encoder in a single RGB stream, our method surpasses two-stream ResNet50 based alternatives with expensive optical flow, often by a good margin.


Hydroelectricity is often presented as a clean and renewable energy source, but river flow regulation and fragmentation caused by dams are recognized to impact aquatic biodiversity in temperate and tropical ecosystems. However, the effects of boreal river impoundment are not clear as the few studies that exist have not been able to separate the hydrological changes brought about by dams from other factors (e.g. fish stocking, and species introduction). We adopted a multi-scale analysis to examine changes in nearshore fish communities over 20 years (spanning before and after impoundment) using a network of 24 sampling stations spread across from four reservoirs and two hydroelectricity complexes located in the boreal region (Northern Québec, Canada). Given the remote location, confounding factors were minimal. We found no strong temporal trends in alpha- and gamma-diversity in impacted stations (upstream and downstream of the dam) relative to reference sites across the three spatial scales. Using beta-diversity analyses, we also detected a high stability in fish composition over time and space at the complex and reservoir scales. At the scale of the sampling stations, we observed higher rates of species turnover (beta-diversity) coincident with the time of reservoir filling and shortly after. Likewise, we detected species assemblage shifts that correlated with time since impoundment only at the sampling station scale. This pattern was masked at the complex and reservoir scales. Synthesis and applications. Overall, the isolated effect of impoundment in these remote boreal ecosystems caused no loss of species and little change in fish diversity over 20 years, but resulted in substantial species assemblage shifts. Our work shows that examining community data at different scales is key to understand the anthropogenic impacts on fish biodiversity.


Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) have proven to be a useful oceanographic tool in the study of ocean dynamics. Data from D279, a transatlantic hydrographic cruise carried out in spring 2004 along 24.5°N, were processed, and lowered ADCP (LADCP) bottom track data were used to assess the choice of reference velocity for geostrophic calculations. The reference velocities from different combinations of ADCP data were compared to one another and a reference velocity was chosen based on the LADCP data. The barotropic tidal component was subtracted to provide a final reference velocity estimated by LADCP data. The results of the velocity fields are also shown. Further studies involving inverse solutions will include the reference velocity calculated here.


The Beardmore Orogeny previously has been designated for deformational and magmatic activity that occurred during the late Proterozoic in the central Transantarctic Mountains. It is recognized in folding of Beardmore Group turbidites, unconformably overlain by Cambrian limestones, and by silicic magmatism dated ∼650 Ma. Until this study, the relationship between the deformation and the magmatism had not been known. In the La Gorce Mountains, La Gorce Formation (Beardmore Group) was tightly folded during a regional metamorphic event producing biotite and limited axial-plane cleavage. The late Precambrian Wyatt Formation is a silicic porphyry with both volcanic and hypabyssal phases, possibly representing the eroded roots of a caldera complex. Wyatt Formation is conformably overlain by Ackerman Formation, a sequence of interbedded volcanics and shallow-marine sedimentary rocks. At a newly discovered locality, Wyatt Formation intrudes folded La Gorce Formation. This relationship demonstrates that the episode of folding and low-grade regional metamorphism was completed prior to the silicic magmatism of the Wyatt and Ackerman Formations. A contact between Ackerman and La Gorce Formations, which previously had been interpreted as conformable, has been shown by this study to be a fault. We advocate that the usage of the term "Beardmore Orogeny" be restricted to the deformational and metamorphic event and that the late Proterozoic magmatism be viewed as the initial stage in an episode of widespread silicic volcanism that continued during the Early and Middle Cambrian in the central Transantarctic Mountains.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Higher magnetic field strengths and continuous improvement of high-resolution imaging in multiple sclerosis (MS) are expected to provide unique in-vivo and non-invasive insights in pathogenesis and clinical monitoring. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of high-resolution imaging of MS lesions in vivo comparing 7T with conventional 1.5T. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve consecutive patients with clinically definite MS were scanned on a 7T whole-body scanner and on a 1.5T Avanto. The 1.5T and 7T imaging protocol consisted of high-resolution axial proton density (PD) (cid:1) T2-weighted turbo spin-echo and T2*-weighted gradient-echo (GRE), and sagittal T1-weighted 3D magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition of gradient echo. RESULTS: The sequence parameters at 7T had to be modified because of specific absorption rate (SAR) restrictions while keeping contrast parameters equivalent to 1.5T. White matter lesions were better detected and delineated from adjacent structures at 7T compared with 1.5T. There were 42% of the patients who showed additional lesions at 7T: there were 97 white matter lesions detected on 1.5T versus 126 lesions at 7T, an increase of 23%. The perivascular migration of MS lesions was well visualized on T2*-weighted GRE sequences. In larger lesions (10 mm), a multilayer structure was revealed on T2*-weighted GRE not seen at 1.5T. Because of the higher resolution, it was possible to differentiate between juxtacortical white matter lesions and cortical lesions. There were 44% of the subcortical lesions depicted at 7T that showed cortical involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Ultra-high-field imaging of patients with MS at 7T was well tolerated and provided better visualization of MS lesions in the gray matter and demonstrated


The advent of computer technology has led to the creation and development of new forms of teaching musical art. The emergence of music computer technologies (MCT) was the basis for creating both new forms in the educational process and new subjects, the appearance of new disciplines and new educational trends in the system of a contemporary musical education. These new subjects, such as "Musical Informatics," "Computer Music Creative Work," "Computer Arrangement and Composition, Sound and Timbre Programming," "Electronic Musical Instruments" and many others, fully reflect the essence of the changes that have occurred in approaches to the study of music art. This article analyzes the possibility of including an integrative model for the semantic space of music, developed with the participation of the prominent cybernetics, scientist Mikhail Borisovich Ignatyev, in a contemporary musical educational process.


The direct oxidation of propylene to propylene oxide (PO) using molecular oxygen has many advantages over existing chlorohydrin and hydroperoxide process, which produce side products and require complex purification schemes. Recent advances in liquid-phase and gas-phase catalytic oxidation of propylene in the presence of only molecular oxygen as oxidant and in absence of reducing agents are summarized. Liquid-phase PO processes involving soluble or insoluble Mo, W, or V catalysts have been reported which provide moderate conversions and selectivities, but these likely involve autoxidation by homogeneous chain reactions. Gas-phase PO catalysts have been mostly Ag-, Cu-, or TiO2-based substances, although other compositions such as Au-, MoO3-, Bi-based catalysts and photocatalysts have also been suggested as possibilities. The Ag catalysts differ from those used for ethylene oxide production in having high Ag contents and numerous additives. The additives are solid-phase alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, and halogens, with the most common substances being NaCl and CaCO3. Nitrogen oxides in the form of gas-phase species or nitrates have also been found to be effective in enhancing PO production. Direct epoxidation by surface nitrates is a possibility. Titania catalysts supported on silicates have also been reported. These have higher PO selectivities at high conversion than silver catalysts.


Traumatic brain injury (TBI) frequently triggers a disruption of cerebral autoregulation. The cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) at which autoregulation is optimal ("CPPopt") varies between individuals, and can be calculated based on fluctuations between arterial blood pressure and intracranial pressure. This review assesses the effect of individualizing CPP targets to pressure reactivity index (a measure of autoregulation) in patients with TBI. Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE®, Embase, and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature were searched in March 2015 for studies assessing the effect of targeting CPPopt in TBI. We included all studies that assessed the impact of targeting CPPopt on outcomes including mortality, neurological outcome, and physiological changes. Risk of bias was assessed using the RTI Item Bank and evidence quality was considered using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria. Eight cohort studies (based on six distinct data sets) assessing the association between CPPopt and mortality, Glasgow Outcome Scale and physiological measures in TBI were included. The quality of evidence was deemed very low based on the GRADE criteria. Although the data suggest an association between variation from CPPopt and poor clinical outcome at 6 months, the quality of evidence prevents firm conclusions, particularly regarding causality, from being drawn. Available data suggest that targeting CPPopt might represent a technique to improve outcomes following TBI, but currently there is insufficient high-quality data to support a recommendation for use in clinical practice. Further prospective, randomized controlled studies should be undertaken to clarify its role in the acute management of TBI.


Over the past decade, emerging market investments have increasingly become the focus of investor interest.Numerous academic and practitioner studies have emphasized the potential for excess return and risk reduction when adding emerging market investments to a traditional portfolio. Much of the research, however, has focused on empirical analyses rather than on highlighting the long-term structural arguments for emerging market investments. Moreover, much of the research has tended to focus on the equity markets rather than on other forms of emerging market investment, such as fixed income and foreign exchange (FX).This practitioner note introduces the reader to the non-equities emerging market (EM) investment universe,describes a prototypical EMfixed-income/FX portfolio, and quantitatively works out the expected annualized returns on such a portfolio, distinguishing between beta and alpha as the sources of returns.


In higher plants, RNA editing is a post-transcriptional process that converts C to U in organelle mRNAs. We have previously shown that an Arabidopsis thaliana crr4 mutant is defective with respect to RNA editing for creating the translational initial codon of the plastid ndhD gene (the ndhD-1 site). CRR4 contains 11 pentatricopeptide repeat motifs but does not contain any domains that are likely to be involved in the editing activity. The green fluorescent protein fused to the putative transit peptide of CRR4 targeted the plastid. The recombinant CRR4 expressed in Escherichia coli specifically bound to the 25 nucleotides of the upstream and the 10 nucleotides of the downstream sequences surrounding the editing site of ndhD-1. The target C nucleotide of this editing is not essential for the binding of CRR4. Taken together with the genetic evidence, we conclude that the pentatricopeptide repeat protein CRR4 is a sequence-specific RNA-binding protein that acts as a site recognition factor in plastid RNA editing.


In this contribution to the Venice Architecture Biennale, Monsoon Assemblages (University of Westminster) will work with Office of Experiments (led by Neal White) on a project that poses the question 'How will we live together?' though an immersive installation that challenges and redefines ideas of border, scale and agency.

It will be framed by the idea of the monsoon as a global weather system animated by the earth's revolution around the sun. It will draw on climate data and field work to convey how climate change and the anthropocene are resulting in increasing monsoon volatility, shorter rainy seasons and more frequent extreme weather events.

The exhibition will focus on the Indo-Pacific Region, which will be defined not by human borders, but by the flight of the globe skimmer dragonfly (Pantala flavescens) that follows the monsoon from east Africa to south east Asia and back again.

The installation will focus on three monsoonal cities around the Bay of Bengal - Chennai, Dhaka and Yangon. These will be represented as core samples of meteorological and geological data, as both physical models and vertical light filled sculptural elements developed with Office of Experiments.

Data taken from monsoonal rainfall over 6 months at each city is being converted into sound and light. Using a process of graphing the shape of each monsoon, each data set is interpreted and then used to control light and sound.

Extending Whites research with Office of Experiments on time based light and sound installations, the aim is to evoke three condensed thunderstorms, in which sound and light are used to model the pattern and shape of 6 months of rainfall data, each storm filling vertical sections above models of the Monsoonal cities, communicating the intensity and interruptions which shape the migration of the dragonfly.

Video footage of the dragonfly collected during field work will be exhibited alongside data driven drawings.

Commissioned by Hashim Sarkis, MIT. Curator of Venice Biennale 2020-21 for The Central Pavilion, Giardini.


This work considers alternative expressions for turbulent evaporation rate used in the framework of an entirely Eulerian model based on a transport equation for the average liquid surface area. Commonly employed expressions for vaporisation rate derived from Spalding-Godsave theory fail to account for vaporisation enhancement induced by turbulence; moreover, they do not describe experimentally observed fact that the pressure affects vaporisation rate differently in a turbulent and a laminar flow. To address these shortcomings, an alternative formula for the vaporisation rate is proposed based on an assumption that the vaporisation rate is governed by a small-scale turbulence. This model is assessed for a range of pressure and temperature conditions, using experiments of Brandt et al. (1997a) performed in a premix duct with a flat-bed atomiser as the test case. Turbulence intensities and scales in the chosen test case are typical for a modern gas-turbine combustion chamber. This new expression results in prediction of evaporation rate and SMD in a good agreement with experimental results.


The "code economy" refers to the evolving technologically-driven environment we live in. In services or manufacturing, outputs emerge more and more from coded computerized systems and less as assembled mechanical devices and procedures. Industries seek algorithms to make software not only more pliable for firms' development of products and services, but also to market them and ease their purchase and use by consumers. This process automates jobs. It gives increasing economic advantage to entrepreneurs who can harness "code" to serve on the large scale the growing niches into which consumers are organized. Yet, mastering the "code" also gives individuals and informal social networks the resources to bundle products and services and put them up for sale and convenient use at more local levels. The economics of the rest of the 21st century will see the movement away from traditional firms and more toward people's relying on themselves as the sources of their livelihoods. The code economy has clearly not developed in a vacuum. Invention, innovation, and the pursuit of happiness have characterized human activities for centuries. What is changing is how societies and individuals radically value endeavors in life differently from even a decade ago, most notably away from industries organized as "command and control" systems. In The Code Economy, Philip Auerswald investigates how economists themselves have been hard pressed to gauge new economic indices of satisfaction that go beyond traditional measures. He explores how the code or "shared" economy reaches into domains such as health, where greater longevity, the popularization of medical knowledge, and the emphases on preventive care and wellness will complement the delivery of medical services. Further, living in the code economy will prompt people to orient their children's futures to more self-reliant pursuits and seek investments that truly serve them and not the institutions that have traditionally dominated the financial and economic worlds.


This article analyzes academic discourses on Hizb u-Tahrir al-Islami (after this HT) in various disciplines, provides an overview of media frames applied to HT in German, British and Kyrgyz quality newspapers, and examines the differences between the conclusions of scholars and mass media representations of HT. The introductory section of the paper briefly presents a group of selected authors and texts, illustrates the importance of drawing parallels between academic and journalistic discourses on HT, and explains the choice of the countries used in the study. The methodological section specifies the questions, sources and methods of research. Finally, there is a detailed presentation and discussion of the findings, followed by a summary of the conclusions.


The recent maturation of hybrid quantum devices has led to significant enhancements in the functionality of a wide variety of quantum systems. In particular, harnessing mechanical resonators for manipulation and control has expanded the use of two-level systems in quantum information science and quantum sensing. In this letter, we report on a monolithic hybrid quantum device in which strain fields associated with resonant vibrations of a diamond cantilever dynamically control the optical transitions of a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) defect center in diamond. We quantitatively characterize the strain coupling to the orbital states of the NV center, and with mechanical driving, we observe NV-strain couplings exceeding 10 GHz. Furthermore, we use this strain-mediated coupling to match the frequency and polarization dependence of the zero-phonon lines of two spatially separated and initially distinguishable NV centers. The experiments demonstrated here mark an important step toward engineering a quantum device capable of realizing and probing the dynamics of non-classical states of mechanical resonators, spin-systems, and photons.


BACKGROUND
The presence of inorganic foreign bodies in granulomatous cutaneous lesions is not infrequent. In this paper, we describe the first case of cerium-induced cutaneous granulomatous dermatitis.

CASE REPORT
A 57-year-old woman seriously burned four years ago presented with papulonodular lesions affecting only the burned areas treated with topical cerium nitrate-silver sulfadiazine cream (Flammacérium). Biopsies revealed sarcoidal granuloma associated with exogenous particles. Electron probe X-ray microanalysis demonstrated a high cerium content. Screening for systemic sarcoidosis was negative. The patient was treated with hydroxychloroquine. After four months of follow-up, clinical and histological evidence of decreased infiltrate was noted.

DISCUSSION
Cerium nitrate-silver sulfadiazine cream (Flammacérium) is widely used for the topical treatment of burns. The main effect of cerium is to create superficial calcification, which decreases wound colonization and prevents the formation of granulation tissue (no hypertrophic scar formation) in burns. Prior to our case, no cutaneous side-effects of cerium had been encountered. Inoculation of foreign matter may or may not induce granuloma formation or sarcoidosis in different subjects, according to their immunologic status. The favorable outcome in this case could in fact be due to a change in the pattern of cytokinin production (TH1=> TH2) rather than the effects of hydroxychloroquine therapy.


Abstract. This paper summarizes the Ms 6.0 earthquake disaster that occurred in Changning, Sichuan Province, China, on 17 June 2019. Additionally, a description of the disaster emergency response is provided. As determined by on-site investigation and analysis, the direct causes of earthquake casualties are summarized. Among them, 66 % of the casualties can be attributed to substandard seismic protection, 25 % to improper earthquake risk avoidance, 6 % to earthquake-induced geological disasters, and 3 % to pre-existing diseases exacerbated by the earthquake. Responding to the causes of these four casualty types, we summarize 4 lessons, which are to build in accordance with seismic protection requirements; strengthen publicity and education awareness of earthquake emergency evacuation and training for the population; investigate and evaluate potential geological disaster sources in the stricken area, along with conducting prevention and control; establish cooperation with health organizations, focusing on people who are older or have serious illnesses and conducting earthquake evacuation training and psychological counselling.


Failure to achieve a protected state after influenza vaccination is poorly understood but occurs commonly among aged populations experiencing greater immunosenescence. In order to better understand immune response in the elderly, we studied epigenetic and transcriptomic profiles and humoral immune response outcomes in 50–74 year old healthy participants. Associations between DNA methylation and gene expression reveal a system-wide regulation of immune-relevant functions, likely playing a role in regulating a participant's propensity to respond to vaccination. Our findings show that sites of methylation regulation associated with humoral response to vaccination impact known cellular differentiation signaling and antigen presentation pathways. We performed our analysis using per-site and regionally average methylation levels, in addition to continuous or dichotomized outcome measures. The genes and molecular functions implicated by each analysis were compared, highlighting different aspects of the biologic mechanisms of immune response affected by differential methylation. Both cis-acting (within the gene or promoter) and trans-acting (enhancers and transcription factor binding sites) sites show significant associations with measures of humoral immunity. Specifically, we identified a group of CpGs that, when coordinately hypo-methylated, are associated with lower humoral immune response, and methylated with higher response. Additionally, CpGs that individually predict humoral immune responses are enriched for polycomb-group and FOXP2 transcription factor binding sites. The most robust associations implicate differential methylation affecting gene expression levels of genes with known roles in immunity (e.g. HLA-B and HLA-DQB2) and immunosenescence. We believe our data and analysis strategy highlight new and interesting epigenetic trends affecting humoral response to vaccination against influenza; one of the most common and impactful viral pathogens.


This paper is concerned with the hard thresholding operator which sets all but the $k$ largest absolute elements of a vector to zero. We establish a {\em tight} bound to quantitatively characterize the deviation of the thresholded solution from a given signal. Our theoretical result is universal in the sense that it holds for all choices of parameters, and the underlying analysis depends only on fundamental arguments in mathematical optimization. We discuss the implications for two domains:
Compressed Sensing. On account of the crucial estimate, we bridge the connection between the restricted isometry property (RIP) and the sparsity parameter for a vast volume of hard thresholding based algorithms, which renders an improvement on the RIP condition especially when the true sparsity is unknown. This suggests that in essence, many more kinds of sensing matrices or fewer measurements are admissible for the data acquisition procedure.
Machine Learning. In terms of large-scale machine learning, a significant yet challenging problem is learning accurate sparse models in an efficient manner. In stark contrast to prior work that attempted the $\ell_1$-relaxation for promoting sparsity, we present a novel stochastic algorithm which performs hard thresholding in each iteration, hence ensuring such parsimonious solutions. Equipped with the developed bound, we prove the {\em global linear convergence} for a number of prevalent statistical models under mild assumptions, even though the problem turns out to be non-convex.


Errors have been perceived as problems within the process of teaching and learning a language. However, especially in writing, learners are able to benefit from their errors with the help of corrective feedback. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of explicit corrective feedback in Turkish EFL learners' writing. The participants of the study were 43 intermediate level Turkish EFL students at a private university in Turkey. There were one experimental, 21 students, and one control group, 22 students. As the data collection both groups were administered a pre-test, a post-test and a delayed post-test as a paper and pencil tests. The experimental group received explicit corrective feedback with extended comments on their errors, and the control group received no feedback. Their errors were only underlined without providing correction. The number of errors that each group made in the writings was compared to each other. In order to ensure the reliability and validity, the participants were administered a 5 Likert scale questionnaire after the writing sessions. The results revealed that the experimental group who received explicit corrective feedback made fewer errors than the control group who did not receive feedback on their L2 writings. Besides that, the experimental group made fewer mistakes in their tests compared to the previous ones. Thus, the findings of the questionnaire revealed that students had a positive view about corrective feedback their L2 writings especially if it has extended comments.


The switch from traditional teaching methods to emergency remote online learning as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19 necessitated a change in approaches to measurement and evaluation in our educational system. A lot of methods were adopted yet the need for credible, properly monitored, valid and reliable assessment continues to be an issue of debate. E-proctoring as a popular strategy for monitoring and administering online-based examinations has witnessed tremendous success over the years yet ethical issues and many more are yet to be extensively examined. While a teacher may embrace the use of this software for monitoring examination, the perception of preservice teachers has not been explored adequately, much more the opinions of the instructors and preservice teachers on the level of efficacy with regards to the use of e-proctoring strategy for monitoring online-based examinations in a hybrid/emergency remote online educational model has not been investigated. It is in this light that this study intends to examine the perceptions of instructors and preservice teachers on the use of e-proctoring devices during online-based assessments, two research questions were investigated through a quantitative research design. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from 40 participants comprising of 36 students and 4 teachers on their perceptions of the effectiveness and efficacy of the e-proctored software while administering and monitoring examinations. Findings from the study will be beneficial in drawing valid conclusions on the use of e-proctored devices in monitoring emergency remote online-based assessment. The conclusions will prepare school administrators and equip them with the possible approaches to adopt in ensuring that a credible valid and reliable evaluation process is conducted during the post-COVID 19 semesters.


We examine theoretically the spreading of a viscous liquid drop over a thin film of uniform thickness, assuming the liquid's viscosity is regulated by the concentration of a solute that is carried passively by the spreading flow. The solute is assumed to be initially heterogeneous, having a spatial distribution with prescribed statistical features. To examine how this variability influences the drop's motion, we investigate spreading in a planar geometry using lubrication theory, combining numerical simulations with asymptotic analysis. We assume diffusion is sufficient to suppress solute concentration gradients across but not along the film. The solute field beneath the bulk of the drop is stretched by the spreading flow, such that the initial solute concentration immediately behind the drop's effective contact lines has a long-lived influence on the spreading rate. Over long periods, solute swept up from the precursor film accumulates in a short region behind the contact line, allowing patches of elevated viscosity within the precursor film to hinder spreading. A low-order model provides explicit predictions of the variances in spreading rate and drop location, which are validated against simulations.


An approximate attenuation coefficient due to ohmic loss is derived for both parallel slots and parallel strip lines. The capacitance per unit length, as well as the inductance per unit length of the lines are also obtained. The properties of a transmission line immersed in a lossless dielectric are thus completely determined. The attenuation coefficient due to lossy dielectric may be approximated by similar procedure.


Abstract The article focuses on the founding narratives of Kulturwissenschaft/en in Germany (studies of culture) that have been addressed in the last decades. According to these narratives, Kulturwissenschaft/en are either described as the result of a fundamental crisis of the humanities or as the result of a radical transformation of the lifeworld since the 19th century. These narratives, however, have not lead to an epistemological foundation of German Kulturwissenschaft/en. Against this background, the article outlines in which ways Kulturwissenschaft as a discipline can be understood as an academic reflexion based on experiences of otherness and difference. Therefore, it will be argued that an epistemology of Kulturwissenschaft may provide a broader framework reflecting the complex and conflictual relation of academic research and culture as well as media as essential conditions of cultural knowledge.


The feces of 397 patients with acute diarrheal disease (ADD) and of other 121 patients without diarrea (control group) were studied in the state of Merida, Venezuela, from June 1993 to December 1994. The genus Aeromonas was identified in patients with ADD in 11.83% and in 5.78% of the patients from the control group. On studying the virulence factors described for Aeromonas (enterotoxin, cytotoxin, hemaglutinins, cellular hydrofibrosity, and hemolytic activity) in the isolated strains, it was detected that all presented at least one of the factors investigated associated with enteropathogenicity. Of the isolated species, Aeromonas caviae was the most frequently identified. All these results suggest that the Aeromonas species are potential enteric pathogens in this population.


Stack inspection is a security mechanism implemented in runtimes such as the JVM and the CLR to accommodate components with diverse levels of trust. Although stack inspection enables the finegrained expression of access control policies, it has rather a complex and subtle semantics. We present a formal semantics and an equational theory to explain how stack inspection affects program behaviour and code optimisations. We discuss the security properties enforced by stack inspection, and also consider variants with stronger, simpler properties.


This thesis examines the history of Sri Lankan-born migration to Australia, which commenced in 1947 during the height of the White Australia policy. Its objective is to increase understanding of these immigrants. It examines the reasons for their departure, the impact of changes in intake policy on the ethnicity of the immigrants, and their settlement experiences. Intake policy has favoured people with occupational skills and English language proficiency. Skills and English language ability have indeed facilitated adjustment to Australian society, but it is argued that family links and community networks have also been of considerable significance.


In this paper, we present a method to compute the optimal trajectories of a linear quadratic regulator (LQR) problem corresponding to a single input, index-1 constant coefficient DAE system. Further, we also show that using a suitably designed proportional-derivative (PD) state-feedback controller one can force the trajectories of the corresponding DAE system to its optimal trajectories. Unlike the results present in the literature, the results in this paper are applicable for any arbitrary initial condition of the system.


The hypothesis tested in this paper is whether the increasing inequality in recent years has had a significant impact on well-being among the population in Denmark. After a survey of the literature we use attitude variables from the European Social Survey in a pseudo-panel setting covering the years 2002 – 2014. We cover respondents from Denmark and supplement the survey data with variables from administrative registers. We find a significant effect from the increasing Gini coefficient since 2002.


This article is dedicated to scrutinizing some images and objects produced within a universe of marginalized youth cultures. Given the high flow of youngsters among these cultures, these practices are here understood as a network. Such network involves piXacao (graffiti tagging), torcidas organizadas (soccer supporters' groups, i.e. hooligans, ultras, etc.), bate-bolas (bat-balls, masked carnival clowns) and bailes funk (favela funk parties). They were consequently analyzed with an approach that is interested in the studies of the imaginary, and in their relations with anthropology, philosophy and psychology; the monsters that give name to the sound crews of the bailes funk, the bamboos used by the torcidas organizadas, the balls/balloons swung by the batebolas, the weapon-allegory ambivalence of rojoes (bottle rockets), and the image of the fundao (utmost depth).


This review focuses on recent research related to the avian ovary and, in particular, cellular mechanisms mediating embryonic growth of the ovary, postembryonic follicular development, and the process of follicular selection. Attention is drawn to a variety of fundamental, yet unresolved, aspects of ovarian function, several of which are uniquely related to avian reproductive strategies. Some notable differences in ovarian function between birds and the most closely related extant group, the crocodilians, are illustrated. Moreover, because the sauropsid (reptilian and avian) and synapsid (mammalian) lineages diverged shortly after the emergence of amniotes some 340 million years ago, consideration is given to both derived and convergent characteristics of ovarian function in avian species versus those in eutherian mammals. Two examples of divergent characteristics are the differences in sex-determining mechanisms between birds and mammals and the requirement for progesterone synthesized within the follicular granulosa as a requirement for ovulation in virtually all species of birds, compared to the site of synthesis and role for estradiol in mammals. As an example of a convergent process, both birds and select mammals (e.g., humans, cattle, and horses) typically ovulate a single egg per reproductive cycle, yet the processes associated with follicular selection occur via unique mechanisms. Finally, reference is made to several practical outcomes from studies of the avian ovary, including applications within the poultry industry and use of the domestic hen ovary as a model for human ovarian cancer.


The operation of the proton wire in Green Fluorescent Protein has been simulated by quantum dynamics and considering the coupling to the protein environment by means of a bath of harmonic oscillators. The simulation consists of 36 explicit and fully quantum degrees of freedom: 6 degrees of freedom represent the configuration of the proton wire, which are coupled to 30 bath coordinates. Regimes of weak and strong coupling have been studied. It is found that presence of the bath induces a fast energy transfer from the proton wire to the bath, with characteristic times under 400 fs. This internal vibrational redistribution happens at the expense of the potential energy content of the proton wire, deformed through the interaction to the bath from its uncoupled state. Strong coupling induces a slowing-down of the operation of the wire because it hinders to some extent the approaching of donor and acceptor atoms to distances in which proton transfer can occur. Internal vibrational energy redistribution affects the dynamics, but from our simulations we conclude that it cannot be the only cause responsible for the experimentally reported fluorescence rise times.


This paper assesses the industrial needs motivating interest in wireless monito ring within the power industry, and reviews applications of WSN technology for substation condition monitoring (Section 2). A key contribution is the identification of a set of technical requirements for substation - based WSNs, focused around security requi rements, robustness to RF noise, and other utility - specific concerns (Section 3). Section 4 comprehensively assesses the suitability of various IWSN protocols for substation environments, using these requirements. A case study implementation of one standar d, ISA100.11a, is reported in Section 5, along with deployment experience. The paper concludes by describing future research challenges for WSN protocols which are specific to this domain.


A theoretical method for the prediction of cavitation in hydraulic radial turbines is developed in this work. The method combines a steady, quasi-three dimensional analyses which are based on the streamline curvature technique with an approach for the prediction of cavitation based on the definition of "available" and "required" cavitation coefficients. A radial inflow turbine is selected as a test case to investigate the capability of the present method as a cavitation prediction tool at design and offdesign conditions. The effects of various operating conditions on the cavitation inception are examined at constant values of total head and turbine suction head. It has been found that cavitation is formed near the outlet when the turbine operated at the design speed. While at off-design speeds and flow rates, cavitation covers longer distances along suction and pressure surfaces.


Burned or cremated sub-fossil bone material is normally handled and treated as unburned bones, although knowledge of physical and chemical properties of bones heated to different temperature levels is limited. Therefore, bones of modern roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) were heated at temperatures ranging from 100 to 1000?C and then exposed to pH 3, 5 and 10. Bone samples from each temperature level were studied, and deterioration was evaluated using weight and hardness measurements. A new method for hardness testing of inhomogeneous materials was used. Significant high weight losses were observed for bone samples heated at 200?C at all three pH values investigated. These were related to the denaturation temperature of bone collagen at 155?C. Regardless of acidity treatment, very low hardnesses (much lower than for unheated bone) were observed for bone samples heated at 400-900?C. At 1000?C increased hardnesses were observed. This has implications for the handling of burned bones. Finally, it is suggested that reported discrepancies in the composition of calcined bone at different burning temperatures may be related to the Ca:P ratio of the initial bone hydroxyapatite before burning.


In this paper we present a framework that aims to answer the central question why some organizations are successful in the CRM domain, while others are not. The framework is built on two foundations. The first claims that an organization's CRM performance is positively affected by aligning CRM activities according to five business dimensions: strategy, monitoring and control, organization and processes, employees and culture, and IT. Secondly, it is hypothesized that CRM performance is additionally and positively influenced by integrating four CRM areas: CRM strategy, customer insight, customer contact, and marketing. This twofold hypothesis is tested empirically using data from thirty questionnaires that were completed by an equal number of Dutch marketing, sales and account managers. All respondents had experience with the concept of CRM and represented a large variety of organizations according to size and sector. Several construction methods are applied in order to operationalize the concept of CRM alignment and performance. Bivariate analysis supports the hypothesis. We conclude that the twofold alignment of CRM activities is a critical success factor for organizations embarking on CRM initiatives.


Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in patients with altered gastrointestinal (GI) anatomy remains a challenging procedure. We experience particular difficulty passing a catheter and devices in patients who have biliary stricture or severe deformity, despite successful biliary guiding. A 70-year-old man with Roux-en-Y reconstruction for gastric cancer suffered pancreatic head cancer with biliary stricture. Seven months after biliary stenting, he developed acute occlusive suppressive cholangitis due to stent occlusion. We extracted the stent and inserted a guidewire into the intrahepatic bile duct. However, we were unable to pass the catheter due to severe stricture of the lower common bile duct and axis-dismatch between the bile duct and the catheter. After inserting another of the same guidewire into the bile duct, we were able to easily pass the catheter into the bile duct, resulting in the successful insertion of a new plastic stent. A double-guidewire technique is useful and worth attempting for the deep insertion of devices through biliary strictures in patients with an altered GI anatomy. J Med Cases. 2019;10(1):1-3 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jmc3220


We use a controlled experiment widely adopted in the literature to assess the extent of gender differences in attitudes towards competition in a sample of UK professionals working in two different companies. We find no gender differences in attitudes towards competition nor in performance under a competitive reward scheme. This results qualifies the findings of a large number of experimental studies that show that women are more likely than men to shy away from competition. We also find that, in our sample of professionals, women's performance under competitive schemes does not decline. We conclude that it is important to avoid generalisations on the presence of gender gaps in attitudes towards competition. This being the first field study with professional workers in relatively competitive sectors, we think more needs to be carried out.


Considering the growing use of cloud computing and the need for optimal use of resources in the cloud, and attention to users that pay for services they use based on their pay-as-you-go basis, There should be a quicker way for users to decrease the user's waiting time and task's waiting time. The main purpose of this paper is to provide an optimal algorithm using the advantages of the two traditional Min-Min and Max-Min algorithms. The other point that follow in this algorithm (TOMMP) is the priority of the tasks. There are a lot of scheduling algorithms in the world today, but the priority given to the tasks has been neglected and overlooked in most algorithms. In this algorithm, priority is firstly selected for tasks based on a prioritization algorithm, and then using the median number to decide which one of the Min-Min or Max-Min algorithms is to be used. It should be noted that according to the TOMMP algorithms, its waiting time is lower than comparisons of the compared algorithms and is shown to be better than the comparable algorithms.


I draw on conservative black Christians' claims regarding their co-constitutive racial, religious, class, and sexual subordination to demonstrate that intersectionality is a heuristic that can be used to advance a range of normative arguments. My research rejects traditional understandings of intersectionality as a necessarily progressive analytical framework, as well as recent discussions that suggest that intersectionality's use for conservative ends is evidence of its theoretical underdevelopment. My analysis also reveals that by positing interlocking racism, classism, heterophobia, and anti-Christian bigotry as blacks' "true" experience of oppression, conservative black Christians guide political scientists to consider 1) that intersectional analysis is central rather than antithetical to in-group policing; 2) that we can best interrogate the standards that social groups use to police their boundaries when we adopt a normative-critical conception of power, and 3) that power so defined challenges the erroneous assumption that our role is to either describe or prescribe social reality.


Background Medicines Reconciliation on Admission (MRA) aims to identify and solve Unintended Medicines Discrepancies (UMDs) defined as differences between the home treatment prescription and the first hospital prescription. Purpose To assess the impact of MRA on UMDs and to identify risk factors for the development of UMDs. Material and methods This retrospective study was conducted in six services: vascular surgery, geriatrics, haematology, infectious diseases, nephrology and urology. Pharmacy students, who were supervised by clinical pharmacists, performed MRA within 48 h of the patient's admission. Students asked the patients about the treatment prescribed at home, self-medication, allergies, adverse events and therapeutic adherence. Students called community pharmacists to get information on the drugs dispensed in the last 3 months and collected further information from other sources: the patient's medical record, an interview with the family, letters from community doctors. Two pharmacists retrospectively assessed the potential harm of each UMD (high, moderate or minor risk). Correlations between the parameters were tested statistically. Results In 2013, 645 patients were enrolled (5,673 medicines analysed). 23.4% of patients had at least one UMD and 10.1% of patients had at least three UMDs. Of the UMDs detected, 47.3% were associated with a moderate to major risk for the patient. The number of lines on the home treatment prescription was a risk factor for UMD, as was the type of service in which the activity took place (R = 0.1918; p < 0.0001). Medicines adherence did not correlate with the incidence of UMDs. Conclusion MRA is a useful process for detecting UMDs. Pharmacy students sometimes have trouble identifying UMDs, so it is necessary to supervise them. MRA will develop in parallel with the use of new information technologies for communications. It plays a role in structuring the "community-hospital" link. References and/or Acknowledgements I would like to thank all those who worked on this project. No conflict of interest.


OBJECTIVE: To analyze the pulmonary function changes and pain in patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting utilizing a left internal thoracic artery graft, comparing the pleural drain insertion through the intercostal space and subxyphoid approach. METHODS: Twenty eight patients (mean age 57.4 ± 8.4 years) were divided into two groups, according to the pleural drain site. Group IL (n=15) had the pleural drain inserted through the sixth left intercostal space at the mid-axillary line and in the IM group (n=13) the drain was placed through the subxyphoid region. All the patients underwent pre- and post-operative evaluation of pulmonary function tests as well as arterial blood gas analysis. Forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) were recorded in the preoperative period, and in the first, third and fifth postoperative days. The pain sensation was evaluated using a standard score from 0 to 10. RESULTS: In both groups falls in FVC and FEV1 were noted, up to the fifth postoperative day (P<0.001). However, the decrease was higher in the IL group, when compared to the IM group (p<0.05). Also arterial blood gas analysis showed a decline of the partial oxygen pressure in both groups on the fist postoperative day, but more significantly in the IL group (p=0.021). The pain sensation was higher in the IL group (p=0.002). CONCLUSION: Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting with using of left internal thoracic artery, disregarding the pleural drain site, leads to a significant decrease of postoperative pulmonary function. However, the subxyphoid technique of drain insertion has shown a better preservation of the lung function when compared to the intercostal drain site.


OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE A Chiari I malformation associated with syringomyelia and hydrocephalus is a rare condition. We report the successful use of endoscopic third ventriculostomy for the treatment of this pathological entity. The successful use of this technique in such a case has not been previously described, and the results allow us to speculate on the pathophysiological mechanism involved. CLINICAL PRESENTATION A 34-year-old woman presented with headaches, a motor deficit of the right upper limb, and gait dyspraxia. Magnetic resonance imaging scans demonstrated dilation of all ventricles, compression of the retrocerebellar cerebrospinal fluid space, downward displacement of the tonsils, and syringomyelia. Syringomyelia involved the cervicodorsal cord below C3, with a syrinx-free segment between C1 and C3 and no enlargement of the rostral part of the central canal. INTERVENTION Endoscopic third ventriculostomy resulted in prompt improvement of the clinical symptoms. Postoperative magnetic resonance imaging scans demonstrated shrinkage of the syrinx and return of the cerebellar tonsils to their physiological positions. CONCLUSION This experience demonstrates that endoscopic third ventriculostomy, which is a simple, safe technique, may be the treatment of choice for associated Chiari I malformations, hydrocephalus, and syringomyelia (even the noncommunicating type).


A microprocessor-based instrument has been constructed which allows rapid analysis of a standard penetrameter film using a handheld probe. Compensation for non-uniformity of the X-ray viewing box used as a light source is automatic and there is a paper record of procedures and results. Calibration data for the penetrameter can be easily modified. The instrument can also be used for spot readouts of optical density.


Six leading economists examine the financing of corporate capital formation in the U.S. economy. In clear and nontechnical terms, their papers provide valuable information for economists and nonspecialists interested in such questions as why interest rates are so high, why corporate debt has accelerated in recent years, and how government debt affects private financial markets. Addressing these questions, the contributors focus chiefly on three themes: the actual use of debt and equity financing by corporations in recent years; the factors that drive the financial markets' pricing of debt and equity securities; and the relationship between corporations' real investment decisions and their financial decisions. While some of the papers are primarily expository, others break new ground. Extending his previous work, Robert Taggart finds a closer relationship between corporate and government debt than has been supposed. Zvi Bodie, Alex Kane, and Robert McDonald conclude in their study that the volatility of interest rates under the Volcker regime has led to a rise in real interest rates because of investors' demand for a greater risk premium. All of the papers present empirical findings in a useful analytical framework. For its new findings and for its expert overview of issues central to an understanding of the U.S. economy, Financing Corporate Capital Formation should be of both historical and practical interest to students of economics and practitioners in the corporate and financial community.


Despite their importance to clinical gynecology, uterine leiomyomas, commonly known as fibroids, have rarely been the subject of clinical outcomes research. Additionally the high risk of recurrent fibroid formation following conservative therapy makes predictors of outcome useful in counseling women. There is even little information regarding treatment outcomes with standard demographic and anthropometrics predictors of treatment success of failure. The increasing use of minimally invasive therapies to target specific myomas makes prediction of high-risk women more important than when hysterectomy was the standard therapy. Understanding the biologic and genetic diversity underlying the clinical heterogeneity of this disease will markedly change future treatments. Several genes including fumurate hydratase (FH) and high mobility group A2 (HMGA2) have been identified as important in the formation and growth of uterine leiomyomas. Genotype/phenotype correlations are also beginning to be identified, including several instances where the risk of malignant disease is increased. The power of advanced imaging also may provide markers of specific phenotypes allowing non-invasive genotype/phenotype correlation. A genome-wide scan such as the Finding Genes for Fibroid Project (www.fibroids.net) will also be instrumental in finding additional genes, which influence disease outcome. This is especially important because genes identified to date appear to primarily affect Caucasian women and the increased relative risk and incidence rates in AfricanAmerican women has been well documented. Furthermore, research in genetic epidemiology will set the stage for prevention strategies for high-risk young women and potentially develop new therapeutic targets.


SUMMARY: The formation of pyocyanine by resting Pseudomonas aeruginosa was studied. Glutamic acid was found to be a good substrate for this synthesis and could be replaced by several related amino acids (γ-aminobutyric acid, pyrrolidone-carboxylic acid, glutamine, aspartic acid, proline, hydroxyproline, arginine, histidine, alanine), and by some organic acids active in the tricarboxylic acid cycle (succinate, fumarate, pyruvate) when added together with ammonium ions. Magnesium ions were essential for pyocyanine synthesis and could not be replaced by other metals tested (Co, Fe). Pyocyanine formation was inhibited specifically by respiratory poisons (KCN, NaN3); NaF, on the other hand, was not inhibitory.


In this paper, we propose a novel 3D automatic anatomy segmentation method based on the synergistic combination of active appearance models (AAM), live wire (LW) and graph cut (GC). The proposed method consists of three main parts: model building, initialization and segmentation. For the model building part, an AAM model is constructed and the LW cost function is trained. For the initialization part, an improved iterative model refinement algorithm is proposed for the AAM optimization, which synergistically combines the AAM and LW method (OAAM). And a multi-object strategy is applied to help the object initialization. A pseudo 3D initialization strategy is employed to segment the organs slice by slice via multi-object OAAM method. The model constraints are applied to the initialization result. For the segmentation part, the object shape information generated from the initialization step is integrated into the GC cost computation. And an iterative GCOAAM method is proposed for object delineation. This method is a general method and can be applied to any organ segmentation. The proposed method was tested on the clinical liver and kidney CT data sets. The results showed the following: (a) an overall segmentation accuracy of true positive fraction>93.5%, and false positive fraction<0.2% can be achieved. (b) The initialization performance is improved by combining the AAM and LW. (c) The multi-object strategy greatly helps the initialization due to inter-object constraints.


Dominant theories of counterinsurgency suggest that state forces must win over citizens to identify insurgents among them. Yet even where state forces are losing, polling shows consistently strong support for counterinsurgents. How can we explain this discrepancy? Dominant theories of counterinsurgency could be incorrect, or, as we posit, individuals systematically may falsify their reported preferences. This study builds on the intuition that individuals feel pressure to report consistently strong support for the military when asked directly, perhaps especially when they rely on an illegal organization or economy. We argue that this pressure decreases when individuals are asked indirectly, in a way that allows them to conceal their response. To assess, we randomize whether support for the military is measured directly and indirectly in a survey experiment in Colombia. We find lower rates of support with the indirect measure, and the difference is most pronounced in areas of insurgent control.


Evaluation of 50 Azotobacter isolates was done for tolerance to pH, high temperature, and salinity, and four isolates (Azo-48, Azo-137, Azo-144, and Azo-160) passed all three tests. Tolerance to pH (5.0) was shown by a large quota of 20 isolates, while most of them (75%) also showed temperature-tolerance ability. Analysis of colony characteristics, biochemical properties, nitrogen fixing capacity, and phytohormone production of 14 selected isolates was carried out. Finally, after an extensive evaluation and critical analysis, we were able to sort out the above-mentioned four isolates and one of them (Azo-144) exhibited tolerance to a reasonably high degree of salinity stress.


Dissolution rates and apparent solubilities of forms I, II and III of Sulfamethoxypyridazine (1) and forms I and II of sulfisomidine (2) were determined in water at 37 degrees C. The ratios of apparent solubilities of I:II:III for 1 forms and I:II for 2 forms were 1:1.18:1.25 and 1:1.32 respectively. Upon long contact of 2 with water the ratio of II:I decreased. This has been attributed to gradual transformation of 2 from form II to I. Gastrointestinal absorption of form III of 1, in human volunteers, was studied in comparison with the more stable form I. The same study was carried out on forms I and II of 2. Data were correlated and expressed in availability rate constants (K1), applying the one compartment open: model. This and other parameters show that form III of 1 is 1.4 times as much absorbed as form I, and that the availability of the metastable form II of 2 is 1.2 times as much absorbed as the stable form I.


Capacity changes in the pulp and paper industry affect demand for pulpwood and thus pulpwood prices. This paper analyzes the impacts on roundwood prices in Norway of two possible capacity changes (one new machine and one close-down) that currently are high on the agenda in the Norwegian paper industry, and assesses the generality of the results obtained from these case studies. The two cases are implemented exogenously into a regionalized partial equilibrium forest sector model, and the capacity change scenarios are compared with a business as usual scenario assuming no demand shocks. The projected pulpwood prices change significantly in regions near mills where capacity shifts, at least for the close-down case, but only moderately at an aggregated national level. The reduction in prices under the close-down studied is higher than the price increase from the possible capacity increase case. The asymmetric price responses projected for the two case studies are supported by sensitivity analyses on other regions and cases (technologies). For the capacity increase case it is shown that the level of the projected pulpwood price is sensitive to assumptions on base-year prices and transport costs of imported roundwood, but the magnitudes of the price increases projected as a result of increased demand are less affected by these assumptions.


A novel compression method for the mechanical vibration signals is proposed in this paper. The vibration signal is first decomposed into subbands, by the intermediate of the Lapped Orthogonal Transform. Next, adaptive bit allocation is done on per subband basis and uniform quantization is performed in each subband. The method is applied on a large number of mechanical vibration signals issued by aircraft engines and it shows good results. Due to the quality of the decoding, the reconstructed signals are usable by post-compression treatments, such as fault detection for health monitoring purposes.


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In this paper, we aim to determine an optimal insurance premium rate for health-care in deterministic and stochastic SEIR models. The studied models consider two standard SEIR centres characterised by migration fluxes and vaccination of population. The premium is calculated using the basic equivalence principle. Even in this simple set-up, there are non-intuitive results that illustrate how the premium depends on migration rates, the severity of a disease and the initial distribution of healthy and infected individuals through the centres. We investigate how the vaccination program affects the insurance costs by comparing the savings in benefits with the expenses for vaccination. We compare the results of deterministic and stochastic models. Mathematics Subject Classification. 92D30, 37N25, 91G60, 34A30. 28 April 2021.


The case charts the genesis and growth of Milkbasket, a daily micro-delivery service, offering grocery and household needs for customers, launched in early 2015. The concept of Milkbasket was built on the unique Indian habit of getting fresh milk delivered at home every morning. Today, Milkbasket caters to the grocery needs of over 150,000 households daily in Gurgaon, Noida, Delhi, and Bangalore and delivers around 75,000 orders every day before 7 AM. To enable frequent and friction- less buying, the company innovated flexi ordering and contactless delivery - both a first in the ecommerce industry. Currently, the company offers delivery of over 9,000 products ranging from entire household grocery, dairy, fruits and vegetable categories. The reason for this phenomenal growth can be attributed to an intelligent mix of quality product offering and efficient distribution. Recently, the company has been in acquisition talks with Amazon India. We need to wait and watch what the future holds for Milkbasket. relationships between India and China in last twenty-five years.


In this paper we introduce new millimeter wave printed arrays with eight axially placed dipoles fed by a symphase network with the corner reflector. Three different typical beamwidths are investigated by a variation of the corner angle. Antennas are simulated and realized in the frequency range about 26 GHz which is popular for microwave communication networks. Three antennas are presented with different H-plane beamwidths (intended for azimuth) of 55deg, 110deg, and 180deg and gains of 19.3 dBi, 16.5 dBi, and 14 dBi respectively, all having E-plane beamwidth of 7deg (intended for elevation). Losses are less than 1 dB


Methylene polyphosphate nucleosides are desired analogs used to investigate the role of phosphate transfer in biological systems. They may also elucidate the mechanisms of enzymatic reactions that utilize natural nucleoside polyphosphates as substrates. The synthesis of these analogs has been restricted by the lack of a method to introduce a phosphinate group containing a versatile functional group for further synthetic elaboration. We describe here the synthesis of two reagents: Bis (trimethylsilyl} trimethylsilyloxymethyl phosphinite and Phenyl (Chloromethyl} [(triphenylphosphoranylidene}-methyl}] phosphinate chloride, both of which contain versatile groups needed for the complete synthesis of methylene polyphosphate nucleosides.


With its origin in the New Testament, Ordination has always been seen by the majority of Churches as one of the seven Sacraments. As the time passed the specific forms, roles, rites, and rules that established the validity of the Sacrament of Ordination adapted at the same time with the Church. The roles of the clergy suffered many changes either by exchanging some of the roles between themselves or by eliminating some of these roles and creating new ones. We observed that the functions and duties of the minor orders have been in a continuous change due to the dynamic character and the needs of the Church. Some minor orders either developed into new ones or absorbed


Application of dairy manure to forage crops is a viable means of recycling nutrients and minimizing problems with manure storage. The objective of this study was to determine whether forage cropping system or frequent application of liquid dairy manure affected populations of plant-parasitic nematodes. Two forage systems were evaluated: the CBR system was a rotation of temperate corn (Zea mays L.), coastal bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.], and a mixture of rye (Secale cereale L.) and crimson clover ( Trifolium incarnatum L.); and the CCR system was a rotation of temperate corn, tropical corn, and a mixture of rye and crimson clover. Application of liquid manure at 14-day intervals with irrigation water was compared to application of inorganic fertilizer based on crop recommendations. The soil was naturally infested with Helicotylenchus sp., Mesocriconema sp., Paratrichodorus sp., and Pratylenchus spp. Densities of Mesocriconema sp. and Helicotylenchus sp. tended to be greater in CBR plots than in CCR plots, while the reverse was observed for Pratylenchus spp. Densities of Paratrichodorus sp. and Pratylenchus spp. were consistently lower in the manure treatment than in the fertilizer treatment. When averaged across years, numbers per 150 cm3 of soil in manure vs. fertilizer were 79 vs. 159 for Pratylenchus spp. and 8 vs. 16 for Paratrichodorus sp. The other plant-parasitic nematodes were unaffected or inconsistently affected by nutrient source. Additional research is needed to determine the mechanism of nematode suppression when liquid dairy manure is applied regularly to the crop. If ammonia accumulation is involved, then soil type and pH will be important factors in determining the efficacy of the treatment.


The authors describe and apply a reliability evaluation approach for comparison of the reliability respectively availability of different types of HVDC converter stations taken into account limited statistical data, insufficient information, and differences in technology. To overcome these difficulties the idea of MIL-HDBK-217F ("Part Count Reliability Prediction"), established for electronic and microelectronic devices based on "well-defined" components and well-known base failure rates, is applied in a similar sense to HVDC converter stations. Nevertheless, differences of such two distinct areas have been considered. The components in electric power stations are usually custom designed, and can be regarded as abstract units (macro components with possibly different technology, structure and protection), therefore, statistical data can be very limited due to data complication and compilation. The described approach is not only restricted to the described HVDC converter stations but can be regarded as a (extensible) procedure for similar problems, especially in early design stage.


Hypercrosslinked polymers (HCPs) synthesized by copolymerisation of p-dichloroxylene (p-DCX) and 4,4′-bis(chloromethyl)-1,1′-biphenyl (BCMBP) constitute a family of low density porous materials with excellent textural development. Such polymers show microporosity and mesoporosity and exhibit Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface areas of up to 1970 m2 g−1. The CO2 adsorption capacity of these polymers was evaluated using a thermogravimetric analyser (atmospheric pressure tests) and a high-pressure magnetic suspension balance (high pressure tests). CO2 capture capacities were related to the textural properties of the HCPs. The performance of these materials to adsorb CO2 at atmospheric pressure was characterized by maximum CO2 uptakes of 1.7 mmol g−1 (7.4 wt%) at 298 K. At higher pressures (30 bar), the polymers show CO2 uptakes of up to 13.4 mmol g−1 (59 wt%), superior to zeolite-based materials (zeolite 13X, zeolite NaX) and commercial activated carbons (BPL, Norit R). In addition, these polymers showed low isosteric heats of CO2 adsorption and good selectivity towards CO2. Hypercrosslinked polymers have potential to be applied as CO2 adsorbents in pre-combustion capture processes where high CO2 partial pressures are involved.


A metagenomic analysis was performed on a soil profile from a wet tundra site in northern Alaska. The goal was to link existing biogeochemical knowledge of the system with the organisms and genes responsible for the relevant metabolic pathways. We specifically investigated how the importance of iron (Fe) oxides and humic substances (HS) as terminal electron acceptors in this ecosystem is expressed genetically, and how respiratory and fermentative processes varied with soil depth into the active layer and into the upper permafrost. Overall, the metagenomes reflected a microbial community enriched in a diverse range of anaerobic pathways, with a preponderance of known Fe reducing species at all depths in the profile. The abundance of sequences associated with anaerobic metabolic processes generally increased with depth, while aerobic cytochrome c oxidases decreased. Methanogenesis genes and methanogen genomes followed the pattern of CH4 fluxes : they increased steeply with depth into the active layer, but declined somewhat over the transition zone between the lower active layer and the upper permafrost. The latter was relatively enriched in fermentative and anaerobic respiratory pathways. A survey of decaheme cytochromes (MtrA, MtrC and their homologs) revealed that this is a promising approach to identifying potential reducers of Fe(III) or HS, and indicated a possible role for Acidobacteria as Fe reducers in these soils. Methanogens appear to coexist in the same layers, though in lower abundance, with Fe reducing bacteria and other potential competitors, including acetogens. These observations provide a rich set of hypotheses for further targeted study.


The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the European Union through its cultural program "Creative Europe" is constructing and promoting a transnational European identity. In the context of humanities and European Studies this can be seen as relevant in the sense it is the study of man as a cultural being, as well as it is stated in Merriam-Webster dictionary "humanities plural : the branches of learning that investigate human constructs and concerns as opposed to natural processes and social relations", and a part of the EU. According to social constructivism, identity is a social construction created by people in interaction with each other by creating joint institutions in order to facilitate joint solutions to a problem. In addition, other ideas and knowledge of these institutions are exchanged, thus gradually creating common interests, which in turn can also result in a common identity. Identities and interests of an actor are formed based on ideas. No interests are identified as already predetermined. This makes it possible to have multiple identities at the same time. A European identity does not necessarily mean that the national identity may give way since nationalism is a political principle in which politics and national unity must integrate, which generates nations and uses pre-selected cultural mechanisms for its people. The common ideas and arguments developed in political cooperation through cultural policies can be seen as part of the creation of a European identity, which is an important part of europeanization. (Less)


The transformation of amoeboid microglial cells into ramified microglial cells in the brain of postnatal rats has been studied by labeling the cells with the isolectin Griffonia simplicifolia (GSA1-B4). The latter served as a specific membrane marker of the cell type. Thus, at the light-microscopic level, the amoeboid microglial cells in 1- to 5-day-old rats were intensely stained with GSA1-B4. All the stained cells appeared round. In 10-day-old rats, while most of the stained cells were round, some had assumed an oval appearance. In older rats, i.e. 15-22 days, all the stained cells became flattened or fusiform with long cytoplasmic processes. The present electron-microscopic study confirmed the above features but also added the fact that the reaction for GSA1-B4 was localized at the plasma membrane in the amoeboid microglial cells in all the age groups studied. The reaction for the isolectin was also detected in some vacuoles in the cytoplasm of the round cells. It was concluded from this study that the round amoeboid microglial cells differentiate to become the ramified microglia with age. In the course of this transformation, they retained specific membrane receptors for the isolectin which distinguished them from other glial cell types.


Activated pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) have recently been implicated in the pathogenesis of pancreatic fibrosis and inflammation. Primary PSCs can be subcultured only several times because of their limited growth potential. A continuous cell line would be valuable in studying molecular mechanisms of these pancreatic disorders. The aim of this study was to establish an immortalized cell line of rat PSCs. PSCs were isolated from the pancreas of male Wistar rats, and the simian virus 40 T antigen was introduced to PSCs by retrovirus-mediated gene transfer. This procedure yielded an actively growing cell line, designated as SAM-K. This cell line has been passaged repeatedly for almost 2 years, and is thus likely immortalized. SAM-K cells retained morphological characteristics of primary PSCs, and expressed alpha-smooth muscle actin, glial fibrillary acidic protein, type I collagen, fibronectin, and prolyl hydroxylases. The level of p53 expression was very high in SAM-K cells. Proliferation of SAM-K cells was stimulated by serum and platelet-derived growth factor-BB. Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) activated nuclear factor-kappaB, activator protein-1, and three classes of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases: extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, and p38 MAP kinase. IL-1beta induced expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, both of which were abolished in the presence of pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, a specific inhibitor of nuclear factor-kappaB activation. IL-1beta-induced monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 was partially inhibited by specific inhibitors of MAP kinase kinase (U0126) and of p38 MAP kinase (SB203580) whereas intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression was not altered by the inhibitors. Thus, SAM-K would be useful for in vitro studies of cell biology and signal transduction of PSCs.


In a recent scheme, with delayed derivative action [Lee and Spong, IEEE Trans. Robot., vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 269--281, Apr. 2006], it is claimed that a simple proportional derivative (PD) scheme yields a stable operation. Unfortunately, the stability proof hinges upon unverifiable assumptions on the human and contact environment operators, namely, that they define Linfin-stable maps from velocity to force. In this short paper, we prove that it is indeed possible to achieve stable behavior with simple PD-like schemes-even without the delayed derivative action-under the classical assumption of passivity of the terminal operators.


Systematic studies of synchronous gastric and colonic cancer are rarely described in the literature, and most reports are single case studies. Synchronous cancer may be detected either following the initial presentation with new symptoms or as part of routine surveillance. Treatment options depend on the final diagnosis and staging of the individual lesions. We describe an unusual case of a 78-year-old patient who was diagnosed with a mixed hyperplastic-adenomatous gastric polyp (a premalignant condition) and was subsequently found to have a colonic adenocarcinoma. The simultaneous presentation of an adenomatous polyp in the upper digestive tract and a frank cancer in the lower digestive tract is uncommon. A review of the literature questions the merits of routine surveillance in patients under the age of 50.


PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the emergence of digital reformatting as a technique for preserving information within the cultural heritage preservation community by reviewing historical trends in modern preservation research.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyzes secondary sources, reviews and historical texts to identify trends in the intellectual and technological histories of preservation research, beginning with the first applications of the scientific method to combating book decay in the early nineteenth to the emergence of digitization techniques in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.FindingsThis paper identifies five major historical periods in the development of preservation knowledge: the early experimental era; era of microfilm experimentation; era of professionalization; era of digital library research; and the era of digital reformatting and mass digitization; and identifies three major trends in its development: empirical inquiry, standardization and centralization.Research limitations/implicationsFindings reflect broad trends in the field of preservation, primarily in a United States context and are limited to the modern era of preservation research.Practical implicationsThis paper's broad historical overview provides a reference for preservation professionals and students in library science or archives programs. Identifying historical trends enables practitioners to critically examine their own preservation techniques and make better decisions when adopting and using new preservation technologies.Originality/valueThis paper provides a unique perspective on the history of preservation knowledge that synthesizes existing historical research in order to identify periods and trends that enable a clearer understanding of digital reformatting in its historical emergence.


Abstract In our previous study, polysialic acid-octadecyl dimethyl betaine (PSA-BS18) was synthesized and modified to liposomal EPI. Preliminary experiments revealed that the PSA-BS18 was a potential material for targeting tumor site with superior curative effects. In this study, PSA-BS18 and Pluronic F127 (F127) mixed polymeric micelles encapsulated docetaxel (DTX) (FP/DTX) were prepared by a self-assembly method. The FP/DTX was found to have a diameter of 34.83 ± 0.50 nm with a narrow polydispersity, the entrapment efficiency was 99.12 ± 1.17%, and the drug loading efficiency of 1.40 ± 0.01%. The storage and dilution stability of FP/DTX was fine. In vitro release studies demonstrated that FP/DTX had delayed the drug release from the micelles. In vitro cytotoxicity assay on B16 cells presented that FP/DTX led to a stronger cytotoxic activity in comparison to F127 micelles based DTX (F127/DTX) and Tween80-based DTX (Taxotere®). The in vivo imaging study showed that the accumulation of FP/DTX at tumor sites was more than F127/DTX. The in vivo antitumor activity of FP/DTX against B16 tumor xenograft model showed a significant higher inhibition and a lower toxicity compared with F127/DTX and Taxotere®. Taken together, the results obtained above showed that PSA-BS18 and F127 mixed polymeric micelles may be a promising strategy for antitumor delivery of DTX.


Abstract. Considered one of the most significant climate reorganizations of the Cenozoic period, the Eocene–Oligocene Transition (EOT; ca. 34.44–33.65) is characterized by global cooling and the first major glacial advance on Antarctica. In the southern high latitudes, the EOT cooling
is primarily recorded in the marine realm, and its extent and effect on the
terrestrial climate and vegetation are poorly documented. Here, we present
new, well-dated, continuous, high-resolution palynological (sporomorph) data and quantitative sporomorph-based climate estimates recovered from the East Tasman Plateau (ODP Site 1172) to reconstruct climate and vegetation
dynamics from the late Eocene (37.97 Ma) to the early Oligocene (33.06 Ma). Our results indicate three major climate transitions and four vegetation
communities occupying Tasmania under different precipitation and temperature regimes: (i) a warm-temperate Nothofagus–Podocarpaceae-dominated rainforest with paratropical elements from 37.97 to 37.52 Ma; (ii) a cool-temperate Nothofagus-dominated
rainforest with secondary Podocarpaceae rapidly expanding and taking over
regions previously occupied by the warmer taxa between 37.306 and 35.60 Ma;
(iii) fluctuation between warm-temperate–paratropical taxa and cool
temperate forest from 35.50 to 34.49 Ma, followed by a cool phase across the
EOT (34.30–33.82 Ma); and (iv) a post-EOT (earliest Oligocene) recovery
characterized by a warm-temperate forest association from 33.55 to 33.06 Ma.
Coincident with changes in the stratification of water masses and sequestration
of carbon from surface water in the Southern Ocean, our sporomorph-based
temperature estimates between 37.52 and 35.60 Ma (phase ii) showed
2–3 ∘C terrestrial cooling. The unusual fluctuation between
warm and cold temperate forest between 35.50 to 34.59 Ma is suggested to be linked to the initial deepening of the Tasmanian Gateway, allowing eastern Tasmania to come under the influence of warm water associated with the proto-Leeuwin Current (PLC). Further to the above, our terrestrial data show the mean annual temperature declining by about 2 ∘C across the
EOT before recovering in the earliest Oligocene. This phenomenon is
synchronous with regional and global cooling during the EOT and linked to
declining pCO2. However, the earliest Oligocene climate rebound along eastern Tasmania is linked to a transient recovery of atmospheric pCO2 and sustained deepening of the Tasmanian Gateway, promoting PLC throughflow. The
three main climate transitional events across the studied interval (late
Eocene–earliest Oligocene) in the Tasmanian Gateway region suggest that
changes in ocean circulation due to accelerated deepening of the Tasmanian
Gateway may not have been solely responsible for the changes in terrestrial
climate and vegetation dynamics; a series of regional and global events, including a change in the stratification of water masses, sequestration of carbon from surface waters, and changes in pCO2, may have also played vital roles.


Abstract This paper presents the results of a data mining exercise on core measurements and reports of the Triassic Lower Volpriehausen Sandstone Member (RBMVL) in The Netherlands. The availability of a large accurate online dataset via the Dutch Oil and Gas Portal (NLOG) enables the definition of general reservoir property trends on a regional–subregional scale. Accurately defined trends are capable of restricting the uncertainty range of key parameters in exploration studies (e.g. porosity and permeability), and thus of reducing risk. Plotting core porosity v. core permeability resulted in a curved data cloud on a log-normal plot. Although porosity–permeability relationships are often defined by straight lines, the dataset in this study shows that a curved relationship results in a better fit with permeability measurements over the entire porosity range. Two methods were applied to define a porosity–depth relationship for sandstones of the RBMVL. The results of both methods confirm, and enable quantification of, the well-known trend of decreasing porosity with depth. By assigning grain density attributes to the core measurements, the dependency of the porosity–depth relationship on sedimentary facies and diagenesis type/grade could be determined. This case study demonstrates the power of this free online dataset in understanding reservoir quality.


Whiplash injury is produced by the hyperextension of the neck followed by flexion. These patients have no abnormality in radiologic evaluation. We collected 39 patients and divided into two groups; Group 1 (neck pain without radiculopathy) and Group 2 (neck pain with radiculopathy). Thermal differences at neck and arm were checked with IR thermography. 1 patient was taken the IR thermography periodically until recovery from his symptom. Group 1 showed that subjective painful area on the neck was changed to hyperthermic, but the arm temperature was normal. Group 2 showed that subjective painful area on the neck was changed to hyperthermic, and painful arm was changed hyperthermic, which can be differentiated from hypothermic change in cervical disc herniation patients. Thermal differences were gradually reduced with the same consequence of the patient's symptom recovery. IR thermography can be used to diagnose the whiplash injury and also to determine a symptom recovery. It is possible to differentiate the whiplash injury with radiculopathy and pre-existing cervical disc disease.


Scoping reviews are, as you might imagine, a scouting of the literature to see what's been published on a specific topic with the goal of determining the evidence base that does or does not exist in an area. As these reviews are generally not designed to provide specific answers to their clinical questions (as systematic reviews are), EMJ does not publish these. Although, in fact, we have. Because the scoping review in this issue, the Editor's Choice, looks at what has been studied on retention of emergency physicians in their careers, and goes a bit beyond telling us just what is missing. You'll note that, although Darbyshire et al submitted the paper just after the first surge, COVID-19 is not mentioned as a rationale for this work. And that is appropriate, because even before COVID-19, the stresses on emergency physicians were omnipresent and intensifying. The authors found "Multiple factors were identified as linked with retention including perceptions about teamwork, excessive workloads, working conditions, errors, teaching and education, portfolio careers, physical and emotional strain, stress, burnout, debt, income, worklife balance and antisocial working patterns." Worrying, they found little in the literature about interventions. Sunil Dasan's companion commentary "Easy come, easy go?" speaks to the need to change our approach to staff retention. One of the more stressful aspects of emergency medicine practice is making the decision to discharge or admit a patient when the diagnosis or the likely course of the disease is unclear. Decision rules have proved helpful in this aspect. But they do need external validation. In this issue we present multicentre validation study of the Canadian Syncope Risk Score (CSRS) among 345 patients from six hospitals in Northern Italy. Solbiati et al found that while clinical judgement and theCSRS had similar AUROC, there were adverse events among 6.7% of the patients the CSRS rated low risk, compared with 2% of those considered low risk by clinical judgement. The authors caution that further evaluation of the CSRS is needed. We've seen several studies asking if, given their extensive experience, nurses can predict at triage whether a patient is going to need admission. The premise is that early prediction of admission could lead to earlier requests for beds and faster flow through the ED. In this issue, Afnan et al present a systematic review and metaanalysis of 10 studies determining how well nurse judgement predicts admission or discharge. Bottom line: While certainly better than chance, nurse prediction isn't sufficiently accurate to rely on this method. I doubt I am the only one who has asked patients to wait hours after a joint aspiration for the cell count in order to determine if I need to request a consultation by orthopaedics or hospital admission? The study by Knapper et al evaluates colorometric leucocyte esterase detection using a standard urinalysis dipstick for testing of joint fluid in a queryseptic joint patient. Can a decision to give antibiotics, do a washout or send the patient home be made sooner with this point of care test? In another study on test strategy in this month's issue, Coggins et al compared the utility of venous and arterial blood gases in determining shock in trauma patients. Shock was defined using pH ≤7.2, base deficit (BD) ≤−6, bicarbonate <21 and lactate ≥4. VBG's had "false negatives" for 20 of the 176 patients tested, but the authors note that in only 2 cases would the results of the ABG change management. Finally, Cattermole and Manirafasha performed a comprehensive prospective study to assess the accuracy of various weight estimation methods for both adults and children, finding that parents/guardians or patients are the most accurate, agebased formulas are least accurate, and overall, as weight increases, the likelihood of underestimation of weight increases. We include under our "COVID-19" section this month a study in which Dbouk and colleagues created 3D models and simulations to predict the direction of exhaled infectious aerosols during CPR. Although not specific to COVID-19 transmission, the paper provides valuable instructions for how a rescuer can position themselves during CPR to reduce exposure to potential infectious material. This is particularly relevant to the article from Taiwan by Yu et al on out of hospital cardiac arrest which found that during 2020 bystander CPR and use of AED's actually increased compared with 2019, but EMS response time was significantly longer. Now onto education: yours. This month's Reader's Choice is a practice review, written by wellestablished experts in the care of the elderly, on the management of patients with frailty in the ED. This month's ED ultrasound education article illustrates how to diagnose and safely drain a peritonsillar abscess under ultrasound guidance. You'll also notice that our Top five has transformed to a more general journal update, including nonCovid research. Although COVID-19 (unfortunately) appears to be with us for a while, the originators of COVID-19 Top five have wisely decided to expand their search to keep our readers wellinformed on other developments relevant to our specialty. Finally, please do take just a few a moments to read this month's In Perspective ("Regain Humane") which reminds us of where we need to focus in caring for our patients in their time of crisis.